There are no straight lines in space. The shortest path from one
point to another is a twisting curve, riding the gravitational fields of stars and
planets. Those who strive to maintain a direct course are, instead, unwittingly following
the curve of space/time itself.

Along one of the meandering corridors of the cosmos, almost
imperceptible against the blackness, flashed a gleaming form. At first glance one might
have mistaken it for a spacecraft, for it gave off a bright reflection when illuminated by
a passing star. On closer scrutiny, it might have appeared to be a metallic comet, for it
was smaller than conventional ships.

Only the sharpest eyes and enlightened minds recognised the form of
the Silver Surfer as he sped across the void, surfing the gravity waves.

The Surfer's eyes shone with the rapture of freedom that only space
can bestow. His cosmic senses took in all around him; he revelled in the majesty of the
universe.

Then, suddenly, he stopped.

Many hundreds of light years to his left, a star had blinked out. He
could not have noticed the absence of light, since the radiation from the star would still
be reaching this point of space for centuries hence. No, it was a deeper, more
metaphysical sense that alerted the Surfer to the loss: Countless years of servitude to
the world-devourer Galactus had honed his ability to detect life. The life-energies of the
star in question had disappeared abruptly - this was no natural phenomenon.

And so, to the ignorant observer, the shape that was assumed to be a
gleaming comet stopped, hung in space for several seconds, then sped off at right angles.

Nothing. There was nothing left. Not even subatomic particles from
which the Surfer might have gleaned what had happened. Where there had once been a bright
sun and a system teeming with life, there was now an unnerving absence of matter.

What could cause an entire solar system to vanish? The Surfer
wondered. The power involved had to be huge - even his former master left recognisable
traces after devouring a planet. Could this be the work of a being more powerful? Or some
freak occurrence that might never happen again?

The thought barely had time to escape the Surfer's mind when he felt
the same vanishing from above him. Another star, only one or two light years away, had
been wiped from reality.

He was there within microseconds.

This time there were remains. Tiny particles of energy billowed
around the point where the star had been, as if searching for their lost home. For the
Surfer, it was a simple matter to divine that an energy beam with bizarre properties had
caused the disaster. It was just as simple to calculate the direction from whence it came.

How far away its origin was remained a mystery. One he was
determined to solve.

"Two are gone, three remain." The cold voice of the
Astronomer echoed within the walls of his starship, Observer. His audience, the
Possessor and the Obliterator, only nodded in response. The Astronomer continued,
"The resources required to power this weapon are vast, Possessor. I only hope the
story is true, and that this is no flight of fancy."

The Possessor beamed with a knowing smile. "As you well know,
my brother, there is no way to verify the legend. Given our source, however, I would be
loathe to disbelieve it."

The massive form of the Obliterator stretched out with boredom.
"Well, the truth of your legends doesn't matter two sniknorts to me, kindred.
Watching the devastation of this weapon is satisfying enough." His eyes narrowed.
"I've seen devices which can send an entire planet to the pits of hell, but even that
couldn't compare with this. Keep your legends, just promise me that the weapon remains
mine when you're done."

"Don't fret, brother," smiled the Possessor, "you are
more than welcome to the weapon when our goals are met."

"Enough talk," said the Astronomer as he turned back to
the ship's controls, "we must move to a central vantage point for our next two
targets."

The Astronomer engaged the hyperspace drive of the Observer.
The ship shimmered, and was gone.

And, minutes later, the Silver Surfer stood in its place.

The scent of the ship's drive was still in the air, so to speak. The
Surfer knew the particular energy signature that a departing ship leaves in its wake. He
knew how recently the ship had left. More importantly, he knew which way it went.

The one thing he didn't know was whether the ship was faster than he
was. He doubted it.

The Surfer re-entered our universe, as he slowed down to subluminal
speeds, within a few parsecs of the Observer. Although he had not seen the ship
before, he recognised the cosmic energies that radiated from within. Only the Elders of
the Universe exuded the so-called Power Primordial, and the Surfer had tasted those
energies before.

He flew closer, seeking an entryway, when suddenly a black aura
surrounded the vessel. From the resulting ebon globe an immense beam shot out, and
instantly the Surfer knew that this was the weapon that had destroyed the two systems he
had just come from.

For the third time in less than ten of our minutes, he felt that
horrible sense of loss of life.

An entryway no longer seemed important. No sooner had the black glow
subsided than the Surfer was inside, via a doorway of his own making. He turned toward the
fore of the ship, where the Elders were gathered, and blasted his way through each wall
until he was in the same room.

"Hold, Elders!" He exclaimed, but too late he realised
that the Obliterator's hand was leaving the console which obviously controlled the
terrible weapon.

"You're too late, this time, Surfer," cried the
Obliterator, "but the title befits you: the Late Silver Surfer!" He guffawed as
a torrent of energy erupted from his backpack-mounted weaponry system.

The Surfer, momentarily stunned, was unable to stop the Astronomer
from activating the teleportation device that would send him and his board out of the
ship. By the time he regained his senses, the ship was gone.

The chase was on again.

"That was too close, Astronomer!" roared the Obliterator
as the three Elders sped towards their final destination. "That gleaming insect
always seems to show up at the worst possible moment!"

The Possessor interjected. "Fear not, brother! Soon we shall
strike our final target, and the Surfer will no longer be a worry to us!"

"Then we'd best hurry," the Astronomer turned to the
console as he spoke, "for I fear his arrival is imminent!"

There was a sudden flash, and once again the Surfer stood beside the
Elders inside the Observer. "I would know your schemes, Elders!" he
announced. "You will not catch me unawares this time!"

"Once again, you are too late, Surfer!" yelled the
Astronomer as his hand came down onto the console. "The final blow is struck! The die
is cast, will you stay to see where it lands?" He smiled, and the Possessor joined
him in his evil glee.

"What transpires here, Possessor?" queried the Surfer,
knowing that he was indeed too late to save the fifth system, and sensing that some degree
of finality had been reached with the last firing of the weapon. "Last I saw you and
your brother here, you were struck dead by Lady Death herself!"

"No, Lady Death did not end our lives. The In-Betweener sought
to command Her, and that was his mistake. Instead of slaying us, she transported us to her
realm, still alive, where she plotted her revenge against the lord of dualities.

"Each of us were visited by her minions. I was told of the
existence of a weapon forged by a race long forgotten, who worshipped Lady Death much as
the mad Titan Thanos does now. A weapon to rival the Ultimate Nullifier in power - able to
wipe out any trace of an entire solar system with one blow.

"Death's minion related to the Astronomer the story of a legend
from the universe before this one, recorded in the computers of Galactus' WorldShip. It
was an intriguing tale of stellar alignment and the chance of ultimate power, and an
opportunity that we could not pass up.

"It was then that she showed us the way back to reality - and
we sought our brother the Obliterator to aid us in the use of our newfound weapon."

The Astronomer continued: "You see, my dear Surfer, you have
just witnessed the annihilation of five separate star systems. The legend which my brother
has alluded to spoke of a particular alignment of stars, such that a single beam of energy
could travel in a perfectly straight line from its point of origin, to the very end of the
universe itself! My calculations have proven that such an alignment would never occur in
Galactus' universe, nor in this one, which was one reason we sought to slay your former
master and create a new universe.

"That plan failed, of course, but this one will not. We have
destroyed the five systems which would have prevented the alignement, and all that remains
is for us to loose the beam, and witness the results!"

Glowing pink orbs of the power cosmic appeared around the Surfer's
fists. "What results are you expecting, Astronomer? And what makes you believe that I
would even allow such an event?"

"Your permission is neither sought nor expected, Surfer. The
beam is scheduled to fire from a prearranged location in just a few minutes time. If my
calculations are correct, the curvature of reality itself will loop the energy back on
itself, creating a feedback loop, and opening a gateway to a source of power quite unlike
anything the inhabitants of this universe have ever seen. Energies that we are equipped to
tap, and manipulate, making us more powerful than Eternity himself! Why wait to rule the
next universe when we can rule this one?"

All three Elders laughed evilly, but fire lit up in the Surfer's
eyes. "Where?" he bellowed, "Where is the beam to be fired from?"

"Why, Surfer," smiled the Possessor. "You'll never
reach it in time. The beam has, by now, reached the remains of that last system, and is
preparing to fire as we speak!"

Before the Possessor finished his sentence, the Surfer was gone..

With a cosmic roar the Surfer descended from hyperspace, less than
twenty seconds after leaving the Elders. They did not follow him, obviously needing to
remain where they were to have the best access to the gateway.

Seconds later, he had located the device, hanging motionless where
the star had shone brighly just minutes before. So all that remains is to destroy it,
thought the Surfer. He raised his glowing hands and prepared to fire, when a bolt of
concussive force struck him from behind.

"You'll not foil our plans so easily, gnat!" It was the
voice of the third Elder that the In-Betweener had exiled to Death's realm - the Trader.
"Stay your hands, or die at mine!"

"I don't know your limits, Trader," cried the Surfer,
"but I'll test them!" And with that he let out a blast would have turned a small
moon to rubble. The limp body of the Elder drifted away, stunned into unconsciousness by
the ferocity of the Surfer's attack.

Satisfied that the Trader was no longer a threat, the Surfer turned
back to the device, only to realise that it was about to fire! He let loose a barrage of
cosmic bolts, but nothing slowed the weapon's progress as it shone its beam.

The Surfer took flight, hoping to outpace the light itself, and find
a way to intercept it.

However, this was no ordinary beam, and by the time the skyrider had
caught up with it, it had already completed its loop and the band had formed.

"Aha!" came the exhilarated cry of the Obliterator,
"It's begun! Astronomer, prepare the syphoning equipment!" The three Elders
were, by now, symbiotically attached to the Observer - via machinery built from a design
given them by the minions of Death Herself.

The Astronomer hammered furiously at the controls on his console,
but at length looked up in frustration. "Something's wrong! The equipment isn't
aborbing the band's energy! It . . . it looks like the band is draining us!"

The Possessor rushed to the console and examined the displays.
"What being could possibly have known of our plan? Let alone have the power to
disrupt our beam? Quickly - get these bonds off us!"

The Elders clawed at the tubes and sensors, but by now they had
fused to their hosts on a molecular level, and seemed permanently attached.

"Set a course, Astronomer! Take us to the beam!" One more
time, the Observer accelerated into hyperspace.

Unsure of what course of action to take, the Surfer was about to
make his way back to the Elders, when suddenly the beam began to shine brighter. Norrin
became aware of what was happening - somehow, the band was gaining energy, and was tightening
around the universe itself! Within seconds, the universe seemed to be two distinct regions
of space, separated by an enormous glowing wall.

Within the wall, the energy appeared to coalesce, into a humanoid
form! It wasn't long before the Surfer recognised the shape within:

"The In-Betweener!" exclaimed the Surfer. "Why have
you traversed the borders of reality into our universe? What right have you to be
here?"

"Hold your tongue, Silver gnat!" growled the
black-and-white being, floating in space. "I have been pulled here against my will by
this band! It has turned your universe into two halves - summoning me!"

Suddenly, the Observer appeared, and the In-Betweener reacted
before anyone could speak.

"The Elders! What madness is this? Are you responsible for my
presence here?"

The Surfer, noticing that the Elder's power had subsided greatly,
suddenly became aware of a deeper plan. he made his way onto the Elders ship, to find the
three of them only half alive on the floor of the bridge.

"Listen! You've been duped by Mistress Death! This was never
about you, or your schemes! This was an act of vengeance against him!" He pointed at
the In-Betweener. "That beam of yours is just a carrier wave - something that She
could use to call the In-Betweener here! She plans to use you to exact revenge upon him,
perhaps even to completely destroy him!"

"Not only the In-Betweener, Surfer," answered the
Possessor, "but us with him!"

The Astronomer added, "We must find a way to stop this beam,
Surfer!"

Tempted as he was to let the Elders solve their own problem, the
Surfer knew in his heart that he couldn't be held responsible for any more lives.
"Unless I'm mistaken, the only reason Death has been able to add her own energies to
that beam isn't the fact that it is untouched by gravity. It's the fact that it is
untouched by life energy! It should be enough to disrupt her power if we can get
enough life in the beam's vicinity!"

The Possessor looked the Surfer in the eye. "With what's left
of our Power Primordial, combined with your Power Cosmic, we may be able to create a globe
of life energy to disrupt Death's band!"

The Surfer wasted no time with words. Instead, he and the Elders
joined hands, and prepared for the outburst of energy required.

Death's vengeful ray band began to tighten on the In-Betweener, and
the Black-and-White clad figure was visibly in pain.

Together, the Surfer and the Elders released their energy. An
immense globe, glowing emerald green, radiated from the Observer, eventually
reaching the band.

One may have expected a shockwave of galactic proportions when the
two powers met. Instead, somewhat anticlimactically, nothing happened at all. Both simply
disappeared.

As did the In-Betweener. A meeting of dualities such as the two
beams was enough to repower him, and he returned to his universe, swearing to take revenge
on Mistress Death.

The Surfer, numbed and drained as he was after the outpouring of
energies, knew that his job here was incomplete. Upon waking, he made his way back weapon
of destruction which Death had given to the Elders, and disconnected it from the ship.

"The only safe place for this," he concludeed, "is
with the other artifacts aboard my former master's ship!"

On his way to Galactus, he stopped five times: Once at each of the
five empty regions of space where entire civilisations had perished. He mourned their
loss.

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